Brazil
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The Federative Republic of Brazil is
continental South America’s largest country having borders with every other
South American nation except Chile and Ecuador. Those countries bordering Brazil
are Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana,
Suriname and French Guiana. Brazil’s land area of over 8.5 million square
kilometres (3.3 million square miles) makes it the fifth largest nation in the
world after Russia, Canada, China and the United States of America.
Brasilia is the capital city and the seat of Federal Government and is situated
at an average altitude of 1,100 metres (3,500 feet) above sea level and about
1,100 Km (680 miles) from Brazil’s best known city, Rio de Janeiro, on the
coast. Other major cities include Manaus, Recife, Santos and Sao Paulo.
As Brazil is based on relatively stable continental crust, much of the country
is below 500 metres (1,700 feet) and there is little or no volcanic or seismic
activity. There are three key elements to the physical geography of Brazil: the
low lying Amazon basin and Pantanal wetlands in the North and North West of the
country; a rolling central plateau where the capital Brasilia is found and
rugged hills and mountains in the south and along the Atlantic coast - the
Brazilian Highlands near Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo where the highest point in
Brazil can be found, the Pico de Neblina at 3,000 metres (9,900 feet). Over 66%
of Brazil’s land surface is still covered by forest.
The climate varies according to the terrain and latitude. Being in the Southern
Hemisphere, Brazil has its winter from June to August. The Amazon basin has a
tropical climate with high temperatures, rainfall and humidity. The Brazilian
Highlands in the South and South East along the Atlantic coast are cooler and
drier, having frequent frosts and snow. The central plateau is more temperate
and contains rolling grasslands like the Pampas of Argentina, although it can
still snow and some regions are also classed as sub-tropical.
